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Netherlands Stamps

The first Netherlands stamps appeared in January 1852.  The country name did not appear on the postage stamps of the Netherlands until 1864.  Before then, all the postage stamps were inscribed with only "POST ZEGEL" (English: "POSTAGE STAMP") and the denomination.

AMPHILEX 1967 Issue
Centenary of Netherlands Postage Stamps

Classical stamps of the Netherlands can be as simple or as complex as collectors wish to make them.

For the person that takes the approach of collecting one example of each stamp of the Netherlands, this can be a very inexpensive venture.  During the reign of King William III, only 33 major postage stamp types were issued, and none of them, if collected in used condition, are unreasonably expensive.

For the person that takes the specialist approach, this can be a very different scenario.  Many of the classical Netherlands stamps were printed from multiple plates, some of which can be re-constructed, and there are many different shades of many of the stamps, some of which are very rare.  Add on plate varieties, errors, gutter pairs, proofs, specimens, postal history, postmarks, etc., and the classical issues of the Netherlands can become a lifetime project.

For much of the 20th Century, the Netherlands was a very conservative stamp issuing country.  True, there are a number of long definitive postage stamp sets with various printing varieties, but these pretty much only appear upon the accession of a new monarch, or when the appearance of a long-reigning monarch changed substantially over the years.  The number of stamp issues of the Netherlands during the 20th Century were no where near the volumes of issues printed by other European countries.  This makes collecting the modern issues of the Netherlands manageable and reasonably completable.

Type A Type C

Type B Type D

Between 1925 and 1930, coil format definitive and child welfare Netherlands stamps were produced with syncopated perforations, to facilitate their separation when dispensed from stamp vending machines.  There are four different types of these syncopated perforation stamps, which are all illustrated above.

• Type A - On the two horizontal sides, there are groups of four holes, separated by blank spaces equal in width to two or three holes.
• Type B - There is a four hole sequence on the horizontal sides, and a four hole sequence on the vertical sides.
• Type C - Blank spaces only at the ends of the horizontal sides.  The end holes are omitted.
• Type D - There is a four hole sequence on the horizontal sides, and a three hole sequence on the vertical sides.
  
  
  

Reviews of the postage stamp issues of the Netherlands, as well as occasional historical articles, will eventually appear in the page link section at the upper right.

All of the content pages in this Netherlands category are presented, as chronologically as possible, by a combination of the N.V.P.H. Postzegels van Nederland & Overzeese Rijksdelen catalog, the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, and the Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue.

For anyone seriously considering specialization in Netherlands stamps, the N.V.P.H. specialized catalog is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY.  The Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue is completely inadequate for specializing in most European countries.  A link to the N.V.P.H. catalog is provided below.

eBay Auction and Store Links
Netherlands

The following links feature category-focused affiliated seller listings on various eBay sites worldwide. They may enable visitors to shop for and to buy specific items for the particular collecting subject they've just read about. 

The affiliated eBay seller auction lots provided by eBay, Inc. are not the responsibility of the management of this website.  On high priced material, make sure the lots you are buying are properly authenticated.

Remember that the lots on most of the European eBay sites are priced in EUROS.  Shipping charges may be more, and the lots may take longer to arrive.  Also, make sure the foreign seller ships to your country, before bidding on or buying his lot.

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